Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Willa Jo Fowler received the 2007 Distinguished Service award from the Oklahoma State School Board Association last week. Fowler has 35 years of experience in education and has served on the Enid Public School Board 32 years. Click here to read more.

The Tulsa Press Club will honor Wilma Mankiller, first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, and best selling author Michael Wallisby recognizing them as the 2007 Headliners. They will be honored at a banquet Sept. 7 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Tulsa. The Headliners Club was started in 1956 by the Tulsa Press Club to recognize outstanding civic, business, professional and industrial leaders of the community.

Representatives from Oklahoma women's organizations including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., American Association of University Women, Federally Employed Women, Girls Scouts - Red Lands Council, League of Women Voters of Oklahoma, National Association of Women Business Owners, National Federation of Business and Professional Women, the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women, the Oklahoma Women's Network, the Women's Foundation of Oklahoma, and the YWCA of Oklahoma City met with Representative Mary Fallin August 21st to discuss legislation and programs that can improve the status of women and girls in Oklahoma.

Friday, August 17, 2007

I know several staffers whose relationship with Congresswoman Mary Fallin's office has ended in recent weeks. So I was delighted to learn via a post on The McCarville Report that Billie Rodely is going onto the Congresswoman's staff. We will miss her fine reporting at OETA but this promises to be an exciting move for both women. I assume this means Billie will have to give up her prominent role in the Oklahoma City Gridiron Show; I'll miss that.

Two Oklahoma women have been nominated for the 2007 “Stand On A Better World” Award and YOU can cast a vote for one. The award is presented by Mannington Mills, a leading manufacturer of flooring.

The program recognizes and celebrates women who “do the right thing” to make a difference in the lives of people and communities in America and around the globe. There are three levels of awards -- local, national and global. One winner will be chosen in each award category and receive $10,000 for her chosen charity. One of those three will be the Grand Prize recipient receiving $25,000 for her chosen charity. One woman, chosen by online voting, will receive the “Your Better World Award” and $10,000 for her chosen charity. Winners will be announced in October 2007, with the awards ceremony held Nov. 15 in Philadelphia.

So cast your vote for either Deana Frank who helped found and now run a battered women's shelter in Tahlequah or Miki Farris who founded the Infant Crisis Center in Oklahoma City. Check out the program and cast your vote here. Voting ends on September 7, 2007.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Oklahoma artist MJ Alexander has traveled nearly 5,000 miles to photograph the faces of Oklahoma's Centenarians. Beginning August 17th, her photos will be on display at The Oklahoma Heritage Center in Oklahoma City. In addition, Alexander has published the book Salt of the Earth: The Wit and Wisdom from Oklahoma's Elders. Her exhibit and book pay tribute to the individuals who have both lived and created Oklahoma's history.

Friday, August 03, 2007

OU's Sooner magazine has a nice article in their Spring 2007 issue about Stillwater sculptor Lou Moore Hale's Centennial project "Facing a Century: Life Stories in Sculpture." Lou carved the portraits and her husband, OSU professor emeritus in history, Doug Hale wrote biographies. The works are on exhibit around Oklahoma. In August, they will be on display at Redlands Community College. View her work here.